I rarely have business at any courthouse or City Hall or anything like that, so I have no idea how the courts and city/county offices are working in my state or any other state. I would assume that it is a state-by-state issue, and some courts are open for business and some aren’t, just depending on the jurisdiction and the local orders. All of this to say, I would have assumed that Mary-Kate Olsen’s situation would have been deemed essential enough – she’s trying to file for divorce from Olivier Sarkozy, and it’s an emergency because he terminated their lease on their Gramercy Park apartment. She feels like she’s being forced out by May 18th (during a lockdown). Well… the courts in New York are closed except for emergencies, and this was apparently not an emergency. Wow.
Mary-Kate Olsen’s request for an emergency order to file for divorce from husband Olivier Sarkozy has been denied because the matter has been deemed “not essential.” Olsen, 33, requested the emergency order because courts are closed in New York during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), but her request was denied by a New York State Supreme Court judge on Thursday.
New York courts spokesman Lucian Chalfen tells PEOPLE that Olsen’s original filing — which PEOPLE previously reported was first signed back in April — was rejected by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Michael Katz because the “essential matter procedure” was not followed.
“We are only accepting essential/emergency matters for filing,” Chalfen says. “The original filing was rejected by the New York County Clerk because they did not follow the essential matter procedure. They refiled under the essential matter procedure and the matter was referred to the ex parte judge a New York State Supreme Judge,” Chalfen tells PEOPLE of Olsen’s denied request, which was first reported by Page Six. “He decided that it is not essential so they can’t file anything at this point.”
People Magazine got their hands on MK’s most recent filing, the one which was just rejected:
The fashion designer and twin sister of Ashley Olsen asked the court to deem her application for a Summons and Complaint for divorce “essential” because Sarkozy terminated their apartment lease without her knowledge, and she is at risk of losing her personal property, she said in the affidavit.
“This application is an emergency because my husband expects me to move out of our home on Monday, May 18, 2020, in the middle of New York City being on pause due to COVID-19,” Olsen said, according to a copy of the affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
“I am petrified that my husband is trying to deprive me of the home that we have lived in and if he is successful, I will not only lose my home but I risk losing my personal property as well,” Olsen said, adding that she is “gravely concerned that my husband will dissipate, dispose of and/or secret not only my separate property belongings but also our marital property belongings that are in the Gramercy Apartment.”
“My husband is trying to force me out of our home by his failure to renew the lease on the Gramercy Apartment which he terminated without my consent,” Olsen claimed in the affidavit.
“This is impossible given the COVID-19 pandemic,” Olsen said of Sarkozy’s request she vacate the apartment by Monday. “It is also impossible for me to find a new apartment on such short notice.”
This really sucks, because to me… the sh-t with the lease and the threat of Olivier tossing her personal property makes this an emergency, and I can’t believe the courts didn’t think so too. That being said, maybe the court took one look at MK’s businesses, wealth and possibly the other property she might own in the city, and that’s why they decided it wasn’t an emergency. I’m not saying I’m anti-MK!! I’m Team Mary-Kate, 100%. But I also think it’s a bit rich (literally) that MK is acting like she would have nowhere to go and nothing to fall back on. Her sister lives in the city, Mary-Kate has owned property in New York before (and probably still does) and MK is literally worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.
Oh boy this enrages me. They might have had a legal reason to do so, but goddamnit. It’s the middle of a freaking pandemic, have a little bit of empathy.
My sister was late filing some paper work for child government child support. She had severe post natal depression, then her husband was killed in an accident a few weeks after the child was born and she was prescribed enough drugs to sedate an elephant. When she got the paperwork in it had to go to appeal – she lost, apparently she didn’t have a good enough excuse for her tardiness.
Oh my god, that’s so heartbreaking. I understand WHY they need to have rules in place, but it’s just so … sad. There has to be a better way.
@erinn – that’s the point though – it’s a pandemic and courts are closed for public safety and also for the safety of court staff. Courts in each jurisdiction have had to draw lines as to what is an emergency matter and it seems that NYC has decided that two rich people fighting over property doesn’t qualify (go figure). Imagine the outcry from the general public who have to wait if she got heard on a property issue especially when she has billions of dollars. That would be outrageous. In Ontario, there is a specific procedure to follow to have your matter considered “urgent” – if you don’t follow it courts admin sends it back and tells you to file it properly. And if it’s not urgent you don’t get heard. My family law colleagues could give a better idea of what qualifies in that side of things but I believe most family law emergency matters deal with child protection and/or custody/safety issues. Not finances.
I know you’re absolutely right, and it does make sense. I’m 100% just looking at it from an emotional perspective rather than a logical one.
It’s one of those things that it’s like of course they don’t think it qualifies as an emergency when I think about what NY as a whole is going through right now. But just on it’s own – it’s so sad that there are people out there having to deal with spouses who are going to destroy or sell their belongings. Or spouses that are physically abusive and people being trapped in that situation right now. It is comforting that they are taking more children and safety issues as emergency cases though, so that’s good to hear.
Thanks for explaining it better and putting it into perspective Redgrl.
It enrages me too. in the middle of the pandemic, she’s trying to get a court to work, meaning more people who have to get to work and go through the city because of the petty bickering of a rich couple and a problem they could solve themselves. She’s immensely rich ..she couldn’t pay the lease herself? do you really believe that, if she offered the rent amount+..say 10% until the end of COVID lockdown to continue having access to the apartment, do you really think she’d be turned down by the owner?
It’s not an emergency, I agree with the courts.
The governor, mayor, council member, judges, court staff and government employees are still drawing paychecks funded by tax payers. Why? If taxpayers fund the work but the workers deem it non essential, why should the workers continue to get paid?
Sounds like she is more worried about her belongings than her house.
I’m sure she could go somewhere else, but she might have valuable artwork etc that she can’t arrange to have moved.
That said if the lease is terminated, doesn’t it mean that he has to move out as well, and that the property has to be emptied anyway?
Confusing…
It is confusing. I’d guess the owner probably doesn’t have someone else lined up to move in immediately…why wouldn’t he/she give MK an extension so she can arrange for her stuff to be moved? People are still able to move despite the shelter in place orders, at least here in Chicago.
I don’t understand why she doesn’t ask the landlord for a new lease and kick the husband out.
This is what I thought, too. She should talk to the landlord. But maybe there’s a wait list for those properties, and it’s already been offered to someone else?
Did she precipitate a divorce by wearing fever dream proportioned white nursing home shoes?
The thing is too, I’m not sure what the problem is. My city is in pretty strict lockdown, but you’re still allowed to hire movers and switch homes. My brother just moved houses because his lease ended and he’s not a millionaire.
I don’t understand it either. Weird.
Same here (in NJ) arguably the most locked down state and you can still hire movers and get your shit. So I don’t get this whole thing.
The enemy here is not the court – the enemy is this awful guy she married that would do such an ugly thing. I feel so badly for her. But, there are thousands of women who truly don’t have a place to go right now. She can hire people to pack her stuff – she has 2 weeks. (I’m sure that’s what she would have done anyway.) She can hire someone to find her a new apt. Maybe it won’t be her forever apt and she will have to move again soon. But the bigger problem is this disgusting man. So glad she got out of there.
She doesn’t have two weeks though, she has 4 days (counting today too). It’s May 15, their lease ends May 18th.
But I agree: the enemy is her ex.
Right? No wonder she’s trying to get away from him.
That’s bs – if lease is terminated she can still ask to rent month to month – the landlord also
can’t find new tenants in the middle of this – especially while the apartment is occupied. The landlord would be relieved by the offer.
Source- I am a NYC landlord.
I was wondering if maybe the property had a waiting list and that’s why an extension or renewal of the lease wouldn’t be an option. Is that a possibility?
Can’t she contact the landlord and renew the lease herself? I’m not getting the drama over him terminating the lease. Unlikely someone has rented the place starting May 19th. Can MK not afford the key money to sign a new lease?
Absolutely this. He seems like a piece of work, but it seems likely she could negotiate a way to stay there (and change the locks, first thing). OR find another apartment – I just moved last weekend, albeit in another state, so I know it is possible to find movers with masks. Every place we called was still working and had safety measures in place.
That’s what I was wondering! Why can’t she just renew it herself. I’m sorry she is having a bad breakup, but there is a pandemic going on, and she can’t expect court personnel to put their lives at risk just because a millionaire fashion mogul needs more time to move her furniture. surely a celebrity would have no problem to rent or buy another place to live on short notice. There would be realtors lining up to accommodate her.
This seems like a divorce lawyer maneuver to me, to get her in better position for a nasty divorce.
I agree. In the Bay Area, a friend who is an attorney told me that the only cases being heard in family court now are domestic violence restraining orders. If it looks like life and death, the court will hear it. If not, it can wait.
I know that she wants her stuff, but that is tone deaf. She’s rich. She can replace it. Yeah, there is sentimental value to things, but people with a lot less are losing everything. Suck it up, buttercup. No sympathy from me.
It sounds like she moved out becaus she was sick of his crap/abuse and he changed the locks. I don’t blame her for leaving, but that happens when you leave your stuff with someone who hates you. Put on your big girl panties and own your choices: piece of mind or my personal stuff? I’ve walk away and left everything and never returned. I was lucky he packed it and I got most of it back.
Also, eviction proceedings are banned in NY until at least August 1. So it’s not an emergency because she can’t legally be kicked out or made homeless by this.
This was the first thing that came to my mind!
Also, if the lease was signed in both their names, wouldn’t both of them have to sign the termination agreement?
She would have legal access to the unit since she’s on the lease. There is no reason she can’t get in there and gather her stuff and put it into storage – at least the sentimental items. But I agree, its not an emergency because she can’t be evicted. Its frustrating for sure, but not an emergency. Emergencies in the days of COVID19 usually center on life and death issues. Personal property loss doesn’t count because if he disposed of it, she could technically ask for liquidated damages ($$$).
Again frustrating, but understandable. The pandemic is hard on everyone.
Exactly. I was just coming on her to say if I were MK, I would prop my feet up and dare someone to kick me out while all this mess is going on with the pandemic.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if she BOUGHT the apartment and gave him until May 18 to get HIS stuff out?
YES – brilliant idea!
Aren’t real estate services considered essential services in New York? I didn’t understand this story when I read it the other day because she should be able to find someone to move her belongings. I mean it sucks, but it’s doable. It’s especially doable for a billionaire. I am still team MK though!
Exactly, parts of this doesn’t make sense. There’s a hold on all evictions in NYC. Moving companies are still operating and with her money I’m sure she could have hired someone to move or heck get a damn UHaul like us normal people. There are stories every day about how New Yorkers are moving out of the city right now. The article mentions that she can’t find another apartment so it’s likely she actually doesn’t have other property or she leased it out to someone else. However buildings are still offering virtual tours and leasing out apartments. How is it not possible that she can’t just sign a separate lease with the landlord and kick her husband out instead? I’m all for her getting out and think her husband is a jerk but again, something is just off with the whole thing.
Or surely she knows some people who have an apartment in the city who left for the Hamptons or some thing, I can’t imagine she wouldn’t be able to find a place to stay at least temporarily. Also, if he’s terminating the lease today, doesn’t he have to leave also? How would that give him opportunity to dispose of her stuff?
The divorce filing being rejected in no way prevents them from physically separating and moving out. I’m just not understanding the problem here (other than that he seems like a jerk).
Source- not broke AF, but have operable cc. It’s possible to hire a uhaul + movers into storage. She can one up my peasant mover x millions. Then move one’s tush into an hotel. This is all for PR narrative. She’s lil but mighty $, prolly w a fierce lawyer.
How does not being divorced prevent her from hiring movers to go in and retrieve her possessions? Don’t quite understand.
I randomly saw an old interview of them on Oprah and Oprah was soo mean to them (which completely shocked me because she’s Oprah!)
I really felt how growing up on that spotlight was hard on them and happy that they found a way to be more private now. But this situation completely sucks! Im in a somewhat similar position at the moment and trying to take care of big things like that during the lockdown is hell.
I a sorry, I think what this guy is doing is awful, and I hope he doesn’t get a penny of hers, but I don’t think this qualifies as an emergency. I live in New York and things have been horrific.
A battered woman, a neglected child…the courts should keep serving those people. A multimillionaire living in gramercy park? Yeah, no, sorry. She can hire people to pack her crap, find her a different place to stay at, all while wearing n95 masks that she could probably very easily get her hands on.
That being said, I hope his petty big ass gets kicked in court eventually.
I was just going to say, she’s beyond rich and could find an apartment today. If there’s a pe those somewhere in NYC just sitting there empty and she calls the landlord and says, “I’ll take it, here’s 90 grand” they’d hand over the keys. But also, since she is rich, maybe she doesn’t know how to take care of herself. Like packing herself, or carrying boxes out of the apartment into a truck. Maybe she can’t comprehend how to do this…
Finding a new place and moving g stuff Is the kind of thing these celebs have a staff for. I’m sure alot of the PAs etc are still working remotely, and setting up things like this is what they do. It isn’t like she has to pack her own boxes and rent a uhaul.
Her husband is clearly terrible. But I’m unclear on how her marital status affects her ability to either negotiate a way to stay in the apartment or to find another.
I think the courts in NY are reopening Monday, so she can try again then. I wonder if the owner is a friend of her husband.
Girls, never ever marry a much older dude. You will live to regret it.
Are moving companies closed in NY? Just hire a company. Get your stuff and move to another apartment.
I’d assume to the court, an emergency would be: my husband is beating me. I don’t see many judges worrying about a multimillionaire being tossed out of her third home as an emergency.
It’s really unfortunate that this is happening to her, but moving companies are an essential business. I’m sure it would be very expensive, but she should still be able to have her belongings moved, even during a pandemic.
The comment from the Court regards Civil Procedure. It isn’t a comment on the validity of the claim, rather, the legal structure of the claim and the steps M-K’s attorneys had to follow under the new court rules for emergency filings.
You have to take a year of Civil Procedure classes in law school. It’s technical, it isn’t sexy, but it is necessary to the practice of law.
If I were making an educated guess, the rules of the court changed with the pandemic, changing some of the regular rules and the attorneys got caught flat footed.
This is less a reflection on the claim and more of a reflection on her attorneys.
If she isn’t on the lease and he terminated his lease, that’s not an eviction. She doesn’t have any legal right to stay unless she can enter into a new lease and considering she’s filing an emergency order stating she has to be out by the 18th, let’s assume she wasn’t able to get her own lease for this particular apartment.
Filing for divorce protects mutual assets (in theory people are assholes and do illegal things) but not being able to file for divorce means he has access/rights to use/dispose of any of their joint property, things or money.
Yes, she’s super rich and will weather this just fine financially but she’s still human and this has got to feel awful.
According to NYpost, MK has empty house or apt in NYC. Can’t she move stuff there or into storage? That black Amex comes with concierge service. Something is missing in this story.
I’m a landlord in NY. Evictions can’t happen right now. Also in NY it takes months to evict a tenant. If you over stay a lease the landlord first has to serve you with a 10 day notice, then after the 10 days is up and you still don’t move they have to file for a court hearing, it takes 2-4 weeks for a court date. Then if the judge signs the eviction warrant the tenant has 7 business days to move. And even if you are evicted the the landlord can not dispose of your property right away. They must store it, either in the apartment or another location, for 30 days.
Not gonna lie, that header image looks like Ted Cruz is taking his grandma out for a lovely soup…
😂😂😂
There are exceptions being made for a lot of things, but this is not an emergency. If you have enough money/resources to rent a hotel room, or I dont know, buy another house, you dont need emergency action to gain access to your current home. It is rich of her to ask and puts a bad taste in my mouth.
As lots of you are saying, I don’t understand the problem. Emotionally, she probably feels betrayed and vulnerable. But practically? Her wealth insulates her from being tossed on the street or losing her belongings. If she can’t draw up a new lease under her own name, because someone else is lined up to move in, well, rich people know other rich people. The new tenants might have other property and be able to give her some time. She might even be able to buy the whole building. And maybe rich people use niche moving services that are trickier to arrange without notice, but she could make her ex pay for any damage to her possessions. What she needs now is documentation, documentation, documentation.
Her divorce is not an emergency. She’s a billionaire. She has means to find a place to live to wait for all of this to go through the system in due course. I mean, come on! This is in no way an “emergency”
She has a place in the Hamptons and 2 more places in Manhattan. MK will be ok. What a mess already. That cigarette smoke was written all over their marriage from the beginning.
I think what MKO is truly worried about is that Sarkozy will abscond with her possessions: probably art, valuable handbags, shoes and coats, and jewelry. We only have pieces of the filing but it seems that she doesn’t have access to the property. Also: because they are still legally married, he has as much a right to be there as she does.
These estimates of celebrity net worth are reported as if they are fact but they are only estimates–or more accurately guesstimates. We truly don’t know how liquid or how asset-rich MKO is. Why were they even renting in the first place? Sarkozy is after her money 100%, but I am not sure how much money there is…
Her delay in moving her stuff out of the shared property could also be a divorce best practice. Perhaps there are assets like art and jewelry purchased with both their monies and those need to be divvied up through the courts and not a move.
This is what I thought that she is worried about her personal property more than a lease. I am sure her army of lawyers explained all this to her about she can’t be evicted at this time and an eviction in Gramercy is not an emergency. It sounds like to me her ex is controlling and threatened to throw her things out.
I wonder if there is something else going on that is not being reported. Cause this doesn’t make sense for reasons many of you have already stated.
I was wondering this too, as it doesn’t make sense. I’ll be watching this with interest.
This is what I’m wondering too. She is intensely private, I think this is not just about possessions. The word “petrified” jumped out at me, can’t help but wonder what else she is petrified about?
This is crappy, but she is very wealthy, she can hire a moving company to move all her belongings into storage, and she can stay at the most luxurious hotel in NYC. It will be an imposition, but her money gives her a lot of options and power.
That much money? That much celebrity status?
New York has been the epicenter of the American covid-19 epidemic and it’s kind of for a reason that only “emergency matters” ie, yeah, like the actual health and safety of children or whatever, are being treated right now. I realize that the clerks and court officials handling such matters are generally “peasants,” but their health and safety actually do matter too.
Cry me a river over these rich jerks’ tussling over their expensive property and apparently being really petty and nasty and public about it. Why tf is this even a post? Am I seriously supposed to feel super bad for MK? With her kind of wealth and connections she’ll probably, SOMEHOW, be alright. The post/People article makes it sound like she’s about to be living under a bridge. There are literally millions of people around the world in ACTUAL emergencies right now who have precious little to fall back on. Gross.
But really? Can’t she try to extend the lease? If the city is on lockdown who is moving into that apartment next Tuesday? And if no one is moving in, why would the landlords want an empty – no income apartment on their hands during this pandemic/economic recession…
Fishy
I love those two girls, as adults, I really do. I’ve always been accused of dressing like a vampire bag lady lol. I’m short, wear roomy, flowy clothing, dark (always dark), platforms or chunky-heeled boots. I get them. And I approve. BUT. I think this is ridiculous. Obviously he’s who he’s always been. I’m almost sure she’d rather not be written about, because he could throw all her belongings on the street this very second, including her, and she could rise and go anywhere on the planet she wanted. In great style and comfort.
I’d be super stoked if she turned her brush with lousy spouses into some charitable effort helping women everywhere who can’t rise and go anywhere on the planet. Some can’t even rise and go.
Divorce is super stressful but less so when you can afford compromises. Housing prices are low in some areas and there ard hotel and this is the farthest thing from an emergency especially because it was just filed in April. There are no kids and no money issues at this point that would require anyone to see this as an emergency. There are also forbearance laws because of the pandemic. She should be donating to healrhcare workers instead.
People are still moving apartments in NYC. Moving companies have been categorized as an essential service. I feel sympathy for her and anyone else whose marriage has fallen apart, but it’s hard to quite understand how this is an emergency situation—she could hire a moving truck this afternoon, load it up with her valuables, and take it to one of her other properties or a storage unit, couldn’t she?
My brother got a divorce in NYC. No children. It took FIVE. YEARS. So while I’d love to be shocked by this…I’m not.
Couldn’t she just pay the landlord to extend the lease? I find it hard to believe the landlord has another tenant lined up.
I’m dating a DA who has been working virtually for two months. I also just testified in district court myself via Zoom (our Senate campaign has been in three different virtual hearings this month).
Are NY courts not operating virtually right now? We’re conducting virtual hearings for actual murder cases and state Supreme Court cases in Colorado… seems crazy that a divorce filing would be impossible right now. Maybe I’m missing something.
Criminal cases are essential. Divorce ones are not.
Essential/non-essential only applies to business conducted in person, though, not business that can be conducted virtually. That’s the whole point. But if *even* our criminal hearings & election hearings are taking place virtually, then surely less important cases are even better candidates for it…?
Civil judges and lawyers are still working, so I don’t understand not hearing any divorce cases virtually right now.
It sucks that her husband is being a jerk about their breakup and she has this added stress, but she’s filthy rich and has plenty of other places to move for the time being while the city is crippled by the pandemic. She has abundant options compared to most people, so I understand why the court isn’t willing to skip her to the head of the line for a divorce. People are dying, but she can just move into another mansion or hotel or whatever…
Her housing may be an emergency and she can try to make a filing to stop an eviction, but why would it be an emergency to get divorced? Being divorced from him is not going to change their lease issues.
Sorry if I am repeating someone else, but she wants to file for divorce, not get a quick divorce. Because filing might mean neither can sell property that might be actually common property. Just filing for divorce must protect her interest some way.
I mean, him terminating the lease is kind of ….. A precursor to DV , IMO. He’s being vindictive, trying to punish her by messing with one of a human’s most important needs – shelter. Granted, there’s probably no risk of homelessness for MK but it still messes with your head to be forced out of your home by someone else, and then to be dismissed by authorities when you ask for help.
Poor MK. I think she maybe struggles with mental health too so it’s not very nice of Oliver to do this.
Also, we don’t really know her financial situation. We’re told she’s rich but her money could have been mismanaged, it could be tied up in non liquid assets, etc. We really don’t know anything .
I’m kind of obsessed with this gossip, even though I know I shouldn’t be. I’m of course going to lean towards MK’s side. I grew up watching her and Ashley. I however, fell down a rabbit hole of their NYC real estate and it’s beyond amazing. I hope it all works out and peacefully. 🙏
I will never never want to live with someone else again.
The money involved makes this pretty much just a matter of human decency though. Give her a reasonable amount of time to get her stuff. The relationship could have been abusive and she could be struggling a lot actually. It’s her home and to have to leave unexpectedly because of a man’s power games is exceptionally hard on a person.
I’m surprised no one’s talking about how sick she looks in the first pic
It’s pretty well established that she has an eating disorder. It’s kind of classless to turn a person’s illness into a topic for gossip.
I had no idea she had an eating disorder. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have said anything
Good. Unless it’s about to be revealed that she’s burned through every cent of her fortune and every line of credit, there’s no reason this is an emergency. Regular people are still hiring movers and finding new apartments.
With her money she could be in a new place within a day if she wanted, and could hire enough movers to have all her stuff out of there in an hour. There’s no emergency here.
The judge made the right decision. She is so selfish and entitled. ZERO SYMPATHY for this poor little rich girl. 🤮
How can she only be 33?
ugh I remember the creepy countdown to when they turned 18. Meh. I feel so old.
Why should she get preferential treatment? She owns many properties and has plenty of money. This order should be for poor women in dire situations, such as domestic violence crises. She will live.